Elder Abuse
There have been increasing cases of elder abuse cases in the news recently. The abuse occurs where an individual has been entrusted with the duty of taking care of an elderly person yet does not act in the appropriate manner. There are elderly patients who are neglected and not cleaned or their environment cleaned causing the aged person to be exposed to more sicknesses due to lack of hygiene.
There have also been cases where the elderly are physically, emotionally and verbally abusing causing the person to live in fear. The elderly are prone to financial manipulation, theft and even fraud which may be detected when the culprit has already used substantial sums of money.
In January, 2012, a Pilipino caretaker, Milagros Angeles appeared in court facing charges of elder abuse. She was charged in San Diego last year of abusing 93 year old Navy veteran and Pearl Harbour survivor, Arnold Max Bauer in his home. The police found the veteran living in filth and squalor(AJ Press, 2012). The kitchen was full of dirty dishes while the floor was filled with trash. There were also rotten food and rat droppings in the house.
The police found the veteran dehydrated and disoriented; clutching a photograph of the USS Vestal which was the ship he had served on during the WW II. The elder was admitted in hospital where the physicians found that he had a severe urinary infection. He was also diagnosed with prostate cancer. The caretaker was found in her bedroom with several thousand dollars in her clothes which the police suspect she planned to send to Philippines. She also had checks written to herself totalling to $5,600.
The police found $ 9000 hidden in her room. She faces charges of false imprisonment of an elderly patient and theft. She also faces charges of elder abuse and fraud proven by the altered cheques in her possession. The Adult Protective Services Authorities were tipped off by Bauer’s bank. The bank staff got concerned over the increased withdrawals in the elder’s account yet he had not been to the bank for some time.
The caretaker is believed to have stolen $28,000 during the time she had been his caretaker. She started taking care of the widower in 2009. The bail was set at $1M since the court was convinced there was flight risk. Many of her relatives are in Philippines. Mr Bauer was suffering from Dementia and other ailments.
Child Abuse
There are several forms of child abuse such as physical, emotional and sexual abuse. There has been severe and significant cases of child abuse reported recently. The cases of neglect especially when it comes to feeding and sanitary care have shocked the authorities in the country.
On February, 2012, Chritton and Melinda Chritton were accused of child abuse and neglect of their fifteen year old daughter. The 70 pound gal was found outside her house walking without any shoes. When a doctor examined her at Madison hospital, he concluded that she had suffered from serial child torture. The stepmother, father and two younger step children slept upstairs while the teenager slept in the basement where there was no bathroom. There was an alarm that went off when she attempted to go upstairs. She was forced to drink and eat her own urine and faeces by her parents.
The parents gave her minimal food to eat and she was forced to vomit when they discovered she had eaten food without permission. She had therefore been eating mostly out of what she picked from the basement floor and the garbage. The teenager was also exposed to acts of violence such as strangulation. On the day that the police were made aware of the case, she had been sent by her step mother to clean some papers. Apparently she felt that the child was not working fast enough so she had threatened to throw her down the stairs.
The girl had fled the house and that is when she had been discovered by a passer-by. The doctors are concerned that she could succumb to death due to malnutrition. There were also health concerns where the doctors felt she could suffer from re-feeding syndrome. The condition arose where the body reacted adversely to feeding after a prolonged period of starvation. A search warrant conducted at the couple’s house unveiled significant evidence that the police are using to carry out their investigations (Channel 3000, 2012).
This is not the first time the family has come to the attention of the police. In 2007, there was an anonymous contact to the police where the caller alleged that the teenager was being molested by a family member. However, when the authorities questioned the girl, she failed to corroborate the accusations or the allegations. The authorities did not pursue further and they mentioned that the girl had looked healthy. The defendants have denied the charges and claim that the child’s weight is due to certain medical conditions. Their bail was set at $ 20,000 each.
References
AJ Press (2012). Filipino caretaker accused of elder abuse, due back in court.
Retrieved from: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/23843/filipino-caretaker-accused-of-elder-abuse-due-back-in-court
Channel 3000 (2012).Madison Police Investigate 'Significant' Child Abuse Case:
Father, Stepmother Arrested In Abuse of Girl. Retrieved from:
http://www.channel3000.com/news/30457341/detail.html
